A new day has dawned on Nikita, one in which our titular spy is reluctantly running the organization she has long tried to destroy. Also, the series’ Big Bad is (finally) no more.

Read on for showrunner Craig Silverstein‘s insights on why Percy had to die, why Nikita had to assume control of the once-dastardly Division, and why the CW thriller had to do a complete 180 going into its just-ordered Season 3.

TVLINE | Obviously, the most important question is how in the world did your big scene-stealing finale cameo come about?
You think that’s going to be the question on everyone’s mind?! [Laughs] Basically, I didn’t know if we were going to get picked up [for another season], and if we weren’t, I just wanted to get my face on there. We had put [producers] Albert [Kim] and David Levinson in the episode the week before… so [the idea for my cameo] just popped into my head about halfway through shooting the finale… I spent the scene trying to make Noah [Bean] crack up. I was taking his lunch order and remarking that I thought Sonya was “quite a whore.” [Laughs] I think you can see him smiling in that shot.

TVLINE | So, why was it finally time for Percy to die?
It was really for the sake of Percy. In stripping his character down at the beginning of the season in that great cell, it gave this really terrific, natural arc for him to bubble back up and then go rogue — which I wish we could have done even longer. But then we needed him to take back over Division, and once that happens what you don’t want to do is just return to status quo…. I always wanted Nikita to take over Division at the end of the season, but where are you going to go? Throw Percy back in the cell? Or does he go on the run again? Whatever it is, it’s an “again.” There’s also the idea that the more he fails to take down Nikita, the less of a threat he becomes. And the more she fails to really take him down, the less effective of a hero she is. Also, as people know, we’re the show where stuff happens. [Laughs] So, all of that fed into the death of Percy.

TVLINE | And there was just no place in this world for Roan without Percy?
We debated a lot about that. There’s actually still a debate about whether he’s really dead or not — just because he’s died so many times it seems like. [Laughs] But yeah, essentially, Roan is Percy’s Rottweiler; he’s the ultimate embodiment of Percy’s program, of someone who is just absolutely loyal and doesn’t seem to have any morality. So, in scenarios of Roan beyond Percy… none of them were seeming great. It’s not like you want these long dialogue scenes with Roan or something… It would just make him less cool. [Laughs]

TVLINE | Talk a little about how you guys chose to execute Percy’s poetic death.
We always wanted a fight between Percy and Nikita up on top of Division under all those lights… The idea was that Percy was going to get out. He already made a deal, and all he needed to do was survive Nikita… And when he finally gets her up there, he realizes that the only other x-factor in his life is Nikita; she’s been able to take him out as much as he has felt superior to her. In that moment, he feels that he can just get rid of her now… We also talked a lot about his line, “I brought you into this world; I can take you out,” because Percy’s always been a metaphorical abusive father to her.

TVLINE | The handful of flashbacks shown during the moment Nikita decides to run Division seemed to indicate that this move has been planed since Day 1. Has it all really been that premeditated?
It was. We had a ton more of those flashbacks, but we cut it down to those three main ones… If you go back and watch the series, you’ll be able to pick up on where we hit that theme and banked those flashbackable moments.

TVLINE | Why is Ryan the right person to run Division? And is it possible that you were foreshadowing his ultimate corruption when he told Nikita that she can trust him with this job?
Nikita is taking over Division, but she can’t really run it because it would be boring. We need her to go out on missions and be in the field. She can’t be the Percy of Division; she can’t strategize and sit behind a desk. We wanted someone telling her what to do, and then doing her own thing anyway — and that [someone is] Ryan. Ryan is the ideal person to head it up, and whether or not he becomes corrupted is a really interesting question… and we’ll see. I don’t know. It’s a really interesting thing, though I certainly wouldn’t want to suggest that he’s been secretly bad the whole time.

TVLINE | Of course not. But it’s not a huge jump to make given that it’s been proven throughout the series that someone can start something with good intentions and then easily lose their way.
Right, it’s not. It’s more interesting that way and those are questions that we’re interested in.

TVLINE | Is it safe to say that Amanda will be back in a big way next year? Perhaps as one of the “monsters” Ryan spoke of?
Yeah, she is a vengeful person and she feels hurt by being thrown out of Division. I would say that if you thought Nikita was dangerous going rogue, Amanda is even more so.

TVLINE | Why the decision to have Alex not give Sean an answer to his request for a dinner date?
It’s something that we went back and forth on during the week of shooting. Right after they defeated Roan, we originally had him say, “So, you want to go out?” and she said, “Sure,” and then passed out. But it just felt too glib. We’ll save that for next season. After their kiss, to me, meant that it’s just a matter of time before they really get together.

TVLINE | Any thoughts on where and when Season 3 will pick up?
No, I don’t know that yet. I’m looking forward to figuring that out because there are so many fun way to go.

TVLINE | I bet! It’s basically a new show now.
It is a new show! It’s very different and I think that’s exciting. For me, as a writer, it’s so exciting because now I get to figure this out, as opposed to just taking a big stamp that has “Nikita” on the bottom of it and stamping ‘em out. [Laughs] It a saga that just continues to grow.

The actor who played the guy that stole Birkoff’s money also appeared in the LFN. He and Sean’s mother are the only two I recognized from the old show. There may have been more, there may not have been… now that Percy’s gone, it be cool if they brought in Peta Wilson to play the new villain.

Peta Wilson as a villain is a great idea! It would really spice things up on many levels.
I had heard though that the La Femme Nikita series was cancelled largely due to Peta Wilson undergoing a drug rehab stint. Hopefully she is back in shape in every sense of the word. I did have quite a crush on her when LFN was in full swing.

I’m happy they got rid of Percy too. There was nowhere else for him to go and the cat and mouse game was getting boring. He was always 3 steps ahead. It was time for him to go. I don’t want Ryan to go bad . He needs to stay his optimistic self. And I read that Owen’s going to be back next season and I can’t wait to see his reaction to Nikita running this joint.

But that Amanda scene was trash. They could have kept that on the cutting room floor. I read in an interview that Maggie thought Amanda shouldn’t come back until season 3. It would be like a rise of the ashes type thing. And after watching that, I agree. Seeing her shoot a person for a black box was kind of “meh” for me.

I’m going to be totally honest here, I think Melinda Clarke is an awesome actress, absolutely amazing. BUT I hate Amanda, if theres anyone is Nikita that I hate, its surprisingly Amanda, I don’t know what it is but I just don’t like how she thinks she can lead Division, YES shes a powerful woman but shes no leader. The whole time she was in charge, it just felt like a joke, only reason I still took it seriously was because there was still Roan. But I like this idea of a common enemy that way hopefully there will be no civil conflict within the newly formed Division, but you all know thats inevitable…

I really enjoyed the finale but I hope they don’t have Ryan go bad. I love him because he’s good and for his optimistic idealism. I really don’t want that to change. If they have him go bad (or horrifically suggest he was bad all along), I might lose interest in the show. I love Ryan though and am glad he’s a season regular.

I am so glad this wasn’t the series finale! Ryan a baddie? WHAT! His do-gooder/ “David” attitude and earnest character is why I love the character. But I suppose both him and Percy share off the charts smarts, but Percy was fundamentally conniving.

If anything, Nikita could verge on the darkness track. And that would make more of interesting storyline (like when Alex ventured that direction, which I still think could be revisited).

I loved the finale and Nikita and Michael taking over Division was the foreseeable endgame/new beginning route to take, but it definitely didn’t feel cliched. As far as the future goes, it seems the sky is the limit but I have to say I’m really worried about this talk of Ryan being bad all the time or becoming corrupted. He’s my favourite character even though he’s such a small part of the show. He’s vulnerable and real, optimistic, brilliant, and a little naive. All this makes him a great foil for practically everyone else on Nikita and I really hope they don’t mess with that. But they haven’t let me down so far so I’m really looking forward to seeing where this will go in season 3.

I knew Percy was going to die. There was no way I could see him living past the finale, with Nikita back at Division. Percy had to die for the show to go on to a new direction for season three. I’m just surprised he didn’t die in a plane crash.

I loved the finale, and I love that Craig Silverstein is so great at knowing just when to shake things up so it doesn’t get stale. I’m really looking forward to seeing where they take things next season. If they do end up corrupting Ryan though I will be absolutely broken-hearted. Birkhoff and Ryan are what keep the team grounded and make for some light-hearted moments in the darkest of times. Ryan is optimistic, albeit naive, but he puts all of his energy into everything he does. Please don’t make him a bad guy!

i dont know why everyone wants Ryan to be bad either. To me, stuff that is dark stay dark. Batman i get it, Superman I dont. Ryan is totally a doppleganger for Brandon Routh and Clark Kents/Supes boy scout thing, dont fock w/ it. Personally I found Owen more memorable but they dont really need Michael and Owen and Sean and Owen was already too into Nikita. Agreed Percy was anchor of show but was time to move on.

True. That’s how I see Ryan, too. More Superman than Batman, still uncorrupted and idealistic even though his life was almost snuffed out and he was branded a traitor by the government, put in prison. How do you corrupt a character like that? The worst has already happened and he survived. I hope he stays good, maybe a little more deadly in the skills department ;)

I actually told someone that Sean was dead. “Never ask a girl out at the beginning of a season finale,” I said. I’m glad I was wrong.

Percy was a great villain, but it was time for him to go. We’ve still got Amanda. And I’m interested to see what they do next season. Personally, I could see Ryan slowly being corrupted thinking he was doing the right thing and then need Nikita to set his straight. Hope we don’t go there, however, because I love Nikita’s family she’s built up over the last two years.

He did and didn’t. I’ll have to watch again but he was kind of defeated by his own mistake, tripping up, falling back and electrocuted? I think that’s an appropriate way for him to end up dying. Sean & Alex almost defeating him combined with his own misstep. He was righteously kicking their butts up until that point. I will miss scary-face Roan.

Surprisingly this guy has become my favourite character in any TV/movie. I remember when I didn’t have a favourite character in the first season, every scene with this guy made it more intense cause he’s a total badass and he is bad. In the end being the antagonist, theres always an end for them but because this guy is like the elite of the elite, it just felt so inconsistent for him to have been defeated by Alex and Sean, whether or not his own mistake factored in to it as well. I would have been fine if he took one of them with him but nevertheless that was the most epic hand to hand fight scene i’ve seen for a while now. It was a great way to end the finale in order to take a different direction.

Has enyone wondered why she said to Alex ‘Here we go again’? What did she mean? She wants the girl to infiltrate again? But why? Doesn’t she trust Ryan?
I don’t get it, but I love the idea of possible team Alex/Nikita like in the first season :)

First time she said here we go to alex,was when they were trying to destroy division,just the two of them in s1,but now she said that coz she has to stay there,not desroying it,but making it a better place.

Fantastic finale! I love the idea of Nikita taking over Division. My favourite part of this show is that it changes every year. They never settle into a pattern, every year it’s like a completely new show with a completely new arc and just the same characters. Phenomenal.

I like Owen as much as everyone else, but I don’t think he’d be quite as awesome if he were made a series regular. Characters like that are more effective when they only pop up every once in a while. I’m positive he will be back and kicking ass at some point.

What a fantastic finale for a great show!! I am so glad the CW decided to renew it. I did like Percy alot as the villain but I am glad they didn’t do what many shows do and decided to end it. He had some good one-liners. I think my favorite was the line about “ordering a cruel irony” when they were stuck in one of the recruit rooms (Alex’s old room, I think?) He had a great death too!!!

I would also love it if Peta Wilson were on the show. Not sure if I would like a Nikita or Amanda face off more.

I absolutely loved the season finale. This is a definite game changer for Nikita and co with Percy and Roan going down and out!! WOW!! I for one suspected it, but never thought it would actually happen. I was totally shocked (in a good way)!! Well, there’s still Amanda, with a freakin black box though! She’s just as bad as Percy. Not worse, but just as bad. Kudos to CW for renewing it and I thoroughly look forward to season 3.

Nikita is a lot like Chuck, in that each season is a gamechanger. Each season changes the playing field completely and invites a whole new show practically, just with the same characters. I loved Chuck and I love Nikita too. I’m excited to see where this will go next season!

As much as I admire Percy for being a complete badass and smart villian, I understand why he had to die. He is a terrorist and he threatened to kill hundreds, if not thousands of people right here on American soil. There is no way that any credible president would have let him escape from that. He overreached and got himself killed. I suspect that along with a vengeful Amanda, that this secret group that Percy was desperate to join will be the future baddies. Percy’s problem was that he wanted the whole world to know he was great and bowed to him, so his ego was his ultimate downfall. Too bad.

So who was that guy Percy was talking to and if they are so elite why have we not heard of them before? Surely division being blackops as well as gogal meant they were the elite badasses for Oversight and the Udinov empire. This storyline intro seems very odd indeed.

Just caught up with season 2 on Netflix. Awesome show. I’ve read a number of recaps and haven’t seen anyone mention something. I didn’t catch it the first time I saw the finale because it was done almost in passing. But I woke up with a start and then went back to confirm it. It’s there. In the first season, where Nikita is introducing the show, she often mentions this: “And the last thing they’ll say is, ‘Nikita.'” Well – if Percy is “they” he did just that – just before Nikita lets him fall. Very cool.